In the wake of the Dafonte Miller case, the Durham Regional Police Chief, Paul Martin, vowed to implement a new policy for reporting incidents to the Special Investigations Unit (“SIU”) CP24 reports. In a written statement released Monday, September 11, 2017, Martin said the provincial regulations relating to the notification of the SIU do not “serve our community” and the chief promised to implement a procedure that is “more transparent and accountable.”

Martin stated, “there will be no exceptions: if the officer is from our police service the procedure will apply. If they are from another service, the procedure will apply, on duty or off. Whatever happens in Durham will be the responsibility of the Durham Regional Police Service.”

The statement comes after both the Durham Regional Police Service and Toronto Police Service were criticized for failing to contact the SIU after an off-duty Toronto police officer allegedly assaulted and severely wounded Whitby teen Dafonte Miller last December.

According to Falconer, the Theriault’s allegedly beat Miller “within an inch of his life.” Falconer also said that following the attack, Miller’s left eye was dislodged from its socket and was split in four, causing him to permanently lose vision in that eye. Falconer added that Miller also suffered a broken nose, broken orbital bone, bruised ribs, and a fractured wrist.